Made up of Jamie Glass, Oliver Nunn and brothers James and Rob Simpson, Indoor Pets is a four-piece band that is self-described as “Pop music with walls of guitars.”

“James, Robbie and I all went to school together and we were the only musicians in our home town that hadn’t given up and found a real job,” Glass recalled. “So we were thrown together out of a collective stubbornness to grow up. Oliver answered a wanted ad we had put in a newspaper titled ‘ruggedly handsome man wanted to join nerdy indie band.’ He joined and then we taught him how to play bass.”

The power-pop quartet played at the Moroccan Lounge in downtown Los Angeles last Wednesday. The show was one of the first of the group’s performances outside of their homes in southeastern England.

“We’ve constantly been told that we have a ‘transatlantic sound.’ I’m not sure how that has come about, but I feel like our message is fairly universal,” said Glass. “Everyone wants to be happy and the majority of people struggle to understand why they’re not. Regardless of accent.”

The shows in the states are in anticipation of an upcoming album to be released on March 8 titled “Be Content.” Throughout the Moroccan Lounge show, the band kept thanking the audience for their attendance, saying the turnout was unexpected. Before the show, the band indicated their anticipation for coming to the states was all over the place.

“It’s difficult to keep your expectations in check,” Glass said. “If you asked our parents, ‘touring America’ is the equivalent of ‘making it’ and they’re fully expecting us to come back as internationally known musicians. We’re just happy to play our music to a crowd of people that want to hear it. If that crowd is in the U.S. then we’ll be there!”

The band’s lyricism plays on ideas of self-depreciation and being a misfit of everyday life, something Glass struggles with himself.

“To me, it’s the message behind it all,” he explained. “But I would say that being the egocentric lyricist that I am. I like the idea that our music is uplifting but there is a lot of potential depth when the lyrics are dissected. Perhaps you wouldn’t expect it from a pop song. I could very well be wrong though.”

The track “Hi” is the first single off “Be Content” and it packs a heavy punch of witty hooks and lush guitar riffs. Glass’s high pitched vocals resemble early 2000s pop-punk leads like Pierre Bouvier from Simple Plan.

But the band is far from the punk genre. Guided by electric guitars and pop-melodies, Glass’s vocals create a song that would perfectly fit in a soundtrack for a ‘root for the underdog’ type film.

The show at the Moroccan Lounge kicked off with openers No Win, whose music sounds similar to Indoor Pets but with a power-punk mix. No Win is a solo project/band spin-off of the rock group, FIDLAR.

Shortly after No Win went off stage, Indoor Pets began their set with “Mean Heart,” a 2015 release. The quartet was infectiously lively, jumping around the stage and screeching with excitement. Fans headbanged along to “Hi” and “Electrify,” a track made up of slow and dark syncopation.

The music played live reflected a raw and much more unfiltered version of the band’s studio versions. It was simply a show made for fans to rock out and headbang until the night drew a close.

You can keep up with the band on twitter @IndoorPets and follow them on Spotify to be notified when new music gets released.

Listen to Indoor Pets plus some of their handpicked favorites on the CSUN Sundial Spotify.